Chapter 61: 037. Imperial Prince is Subjugating Vampires -2 (Part One)
**
Luan recalled what Allen told him before.
Count Fomor… was a Vampire?
Now that was a story he would’ve never believed. If he hadn’t seen Allen’s true ‘hidden’ self, that was.
But then again, he did notice some odd signs.
For starters, it was rather weird to see Count Fomor, who was supposed to be in the banquet hall, rush back to his side and speak of Allen’s violent misdeeds, goading him to take appropriate actions.
Upon looking back on things, the count was reporting on every little mangnani-like behaviour of Allen’s. And through his lips, Luan continued hearing the insults of ‘a low-born mother and her son’, allegedly spoken of by the others.
After pondering on it a little bit longer, it became rather plain to see that Count Fomor was trying to drive a wedge between himself and his younger brother, Allen. However, Luan still ended up believing the count, simply because the latter took good care of him since his childhood. Fomor was also the only person who comforted him from the sorrow of losing his mother.
To think that Luan was shielding such a man while not being aware of his true identity as a damn Vampire.
What a dumbfounding revelation this was.
That was why…
<ul>
Please die.
</ul>
…It couldn’t be helped even if Allen chose to murder him.
Luan felt his heart suddenly explode.
All the pain that was wrecking his body instantly vanished, and then, darkness visited him. His whole body became lighter, almost weightless. His consciousness grew faint and distant.
This was the sensation of his soul leaving his mortal body.
Luan felt a bit bittersweet. It wasn’t so bad that he finally escaped from the body that tormented him with endless pain. No, it was rather comforting instead.
Perhaps… he was inwardly praying for his death all this time. That could’ve been the reason.
<ul>
And then, please revive again.
</ul>
Although he felt himself moving further away from his body, Allen’s voice still managed to reach him, albeit in a whisper.
Revive? What on earth could he be talking about out of the blue?
<ul>
I am the legion.
</ul>
Allen’s voice continued murmuring within the comforting darkness.
<ul>
And I am Gaia’s inheritor.
</ul>
Suddenly, it felt like his soul started gaining weight.
Something started sucking him in.
Then, his hearing caught several horrifying and bone-chilling noises.
They were the noises of something exploding, the noises of something being crushed, the noises of someone convulsing as if they were about to die.
And then, the sensation of incredible pain instantaneously struck him!
<ul>
Uwaaaaaahk!!!
</ul>
It was as if the blood vessels found throughout his flesh and body were forcibly being grafted together. His bones solidified as his muscles tightened, gaining volume in the process.
The blood that had stopped circulating was suddenly and violently swirling, quickly flowing throughout his whole body.
“Cough!”
The tip of his tongue was assaulted by a bitter taste while his nose was filled with the distinct metallic odour.
Was this blood? The taste, and perhaps, the smell of blood too?
His previously-blurry vision slowly regained its focus.
What was once lost to the necrosis, his five senses, were now gradually returning to him in a slow but noticeable manner.
“Heu-heuph… Wh-what, what is…?!”
A clear ringing voice came out from his throat.
Fresh air quickly rushed in and filled up his lungs, but ironically, this caused him to become breathless instead.
Luan hurriedly covered his mouth.
His body arched like a bent bow and his eyeballs hurriedly rolled around.
The first thing he saw was unblemished skin on his hands between the gaps of his bandages.
However… these couldn’t have been his hands. There was simply no way that hands covered in such white and pristine skin belonged to him.
‘Skin, I-I have skin!’
He even forgot about his inability to breathe without pain and raised his trembling hands closer to his face.
In just a second, he stared at his palm first, confirming their current condition, and then, he looked at the back of his hand next. While speechless, he held his own hands and gently stroked them. This unfamiliar sensation completely took over his rationale.
“Ah, ah, ah…”
He let out a breath. And then let it back in. Although unrefined and rough, he continued on breathing like this.
“Ah, aaaah…”
He raised his upper torso up with a great deal of effort.
His hands were now beginning to touch his face. The wonderfully soft sensation was transmitted from the tips of his fingers to his brain. Afterwards, his gaze headed to the rest of his body. White flesh could be spied on in between the gaps of the bandages wrapped around him.
“Ha-ah! Hah-aaah!”
Overtaken by a sense of uncontrollable excitement, he hurriedly ripped off the bandages, tearing through them to make sure what he saw was reality.
“Ah…”
A gasp of admiration leaked out of his mouth. He could see smooth, firm skin.
After turning his head in a certain direction, he found a mirror, the one he had flipped around in the past after no longer wishing to see his hideous face.
He reached out to this very same mirror. And after turning it around, he finally confirmed the state of his appearance. The mirror reflected a figure of a man with healthy-looking skin, not some horrendous mess of rotting flesh he saw in the past.
“…”
Luan swallowed back his dry saliva and slowly shifted his gaze to the side. He could see his younger brother, Allen, currently collapsed on the side of the sick bed.
Was this… a dream? Maybe this was a lucid dream instead?
He bit down on his own finger. His pristine teeth dug into the flesh.
This flesh was no longer the same dried-up and rotten version filled with acrid, fishy stench. No, it belonged to a healthy body where pure and clean blood flowed within!
This crystal clear pain he received from his fingers rammed home the reality of the situation.
Allen definitely told him he would experience a ‘miracle’.
Could the miracle he referred to be this?!
‘Did he really liberate me from the curse that the continent’s greatest, most accomplished healers, and the esteemed archbishops all gave up on?!’
<ul>
When you wake up, please seek out Harman. And finish what I wanted to do. Since you crapped all over the floor in the first place, you better clean up the mess yourself, dear brother.
</ul>
Luan abruptly recalled what Allen told him.
It was then, the creaking door was cautiously pushed open. The First Imperial Prince shifted his gaze in that direction and discovered Archbishop Raphael carefully entering the room.
The older man’s whole body froze up the moment he locked eyes on Luan. But the prince ignored this reaction from the archbishop and looked back at Allen once more.
‘Allen… just what are you? What can you possibly be that you can even bring about such an impossible miracle?’
Luan slowly covered his face with both of his hands.
Chaotic confusion and delirium tumbled in his mind. Even then, there was no way to disguise the unadulterated joy hiding among all these emotions.
This sensation of being born again – no, wait. He was ‘revived’, wasn’t he?
Luan Olfolse has now been completely revived!
A deep grin floated up on his lips.
“Indeed, Allen.”
Luan lowered his hands and placed them away from his face, only to reveal the frightening glare oozing out from his eyes.
“The task you wished to carry out, I shall finish it for you. Not only that, I’ll ensure that there are no loose ends either. I shall bet everything of mine and…!”
Unsuppressed hatred burned in his glare.
“…I shall hunt down all the insects that took away our mother from us.”
**
Luan quickly made his next move.
As his body hadn’t fully recovered yet, dizzy spells occasionally washed over him and he didn’t have much strength in his legs. Even then, there was one reason that continued to drive him forward.
…His desire to hunt down and kill the Vampires.
The very first thing he did was to grasp the current situation of the imperial palace. Count Fomor, Allen’s target, had now been summoned before the emperor. This could only mean that even Kelt Olfolse had figured something was up.
If that was indeed the case, then Count Fomor should no longer present any problems. All Luan had to do now was simply follow what Allen had told him earlier.
He directly went to see Harman.
The Paladin visibly stiffened on the spot after discovering Luan’s current appearance.
“Are… are you really his highness, the First Imperial Prince?”
He didn’t even bother to hide the look of shock on his face. But then again, this reaction was obvious since a man who previously resembled a mummy now stood before him as a brand new person.
“Any detailed explanation will have to wait for now,” said Luan while locking his eyes on Harman. “What Allen wished to do…”
“…”
“It was to hunt down the Vampires, am I correct?”
Harman clamped his mouth shut.
“Do not fear, Harman. Allen tasked me with the mop-up operation. If you want proof…” Luan pointed towards himself with his healthy finger. “Doesn’t a miracle stand before you now? Allen was responsible for this. If I say this is my proof, will you believe me?”
Harman’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He hesitated for a little while, but then eventually pulled out a list and presented it before the First Imperial Prince.
Ever since he found out that Allen Olfolse was responsible for summoning the holy undead, Harman didn’t doubt for once that the Seventh Imperial Prince would also be capable of pulling off a miracle on such a bizarre scale.
“Your highness, this is a list of the Vampires.”
It was Luan’s turn to be stunned.
He took the list and briefly scanned its contents. “All these names are Vampires? It wasn’t just Count Fomor, I see…”
“These don’t only consist of aristocrats from our Theocratic Empire, but also servants, maids, and even several nobles invited from other kingdoms, your highness.” Harman gritted his teeth. “Unfortunately, my authority was only good enough to stop these people from leaving the capital.”
The nobles who enjoyed a high enough standing in the hierarchy had already fled from the palace by now. As for those without the same level of power, they deployed their private armed forces all around their residences located in Laurensis. Then, they hid in there, quietly waiting for the commotion to die down.
Harman simply didn’t have the necessary authority to stop them. Even the force he had worked hard to gather was about to be dissolved too.
However, Luan lightly waved the list around as if he wasn’t even remotely concerned. “Ah, none of those will present any more problems.”
It was then, footsteps could be heard echoing in the corridors.
Figures covered in bird-beak masks and crimson robes were seemingly filling up the corridors of the imperial palace.
“Allen possesses the status of a Saint capable of bringing about miracles. In that case…” Luan looked at the gathered group behind him. “…Those that he says are Vampires, must be Vampires.”
The group kitted out in bird beak masks and crimson robes stood at attention before the First Imperial Prince, Luan Olfolse.
“Under the grace of the noble Theocratic Empire!”
The group that carried all sorts of varied and strange weapons, such as scythes, sickles, shortswords, and greatswords were…
“We obey the command of his highness, the First Imperial Prince, Luan Olfolse!”
…None other than Heresy Inquisitors formed solely for the purpose of hunting down heretics and monsters.
“The Heresy Inquisitors, the Order of Crimson Cross, has finished convening, your highness!”
The knights of the Crimson Cross, with their faces and figures hidden behind the creepy bird beak masks and blood-red robes, knelt down and lowered their heads before the prince.
Harman’s lips clamped shut even tighter while looking at them.
They were one of the top five armed forces that only someone of the imperial bloodline from the Theocratic Empire could command
Luan’s eyes surveyed the kneeling Inquisitors. “I thank you all for answering my call on such a short notice.”
The leader of the Crimson Cross was the only one to raise his head, as he looked at Luan Olfolse.
“I, the first in line to the throne of the empire, Imperial Prince Luan Olfolse, shall now issue a royal decree.” He pushed forward the list of names to the leader. “Hunt down all the insects written on this list. They are vermin that dared tarnish our Theocratic Empire, murdering my mother in the process. Judge them all without mercy in the name of our Goddess and the holy spirit!”
The corners of Luan’s lips curled up. Traces of madness dyed his eyes as well.
“If they resist, you’re given permission to kill them. Whether they be marquises or counts, none of it matters.”
They were the bastards that killed his mother and placed a curse on his heart, after all!
“Hunt down every single pest found on this list. And then, torture them.”
After all these years, he was finally given the opportunity to exact his vengeance.
“Pry open their chest and examine their hearts. Crack open their skulls and confirm whether or not the accursed demonic energy resides in their brains. Confirm whether they are Vampires or not, and then…”
Not only that, with his own hands and no one else’s too!
“Let them taste endless pain. Help them realise how vain their false lives have been!”
Luan straightened his back as an arrogant expression filled his face.
The knights of the Crimson Cross quietly waited for the last part of the command to come from the one inheriting the blood of their emperor.
“This… is a Vampire hunt! Apprehend them all!”
